Humidifier for bake ovens



Sept. 20, 1932. F. A. HOPPE 1,878,519

HUMIDIFIERFOR BAKE ovENs Filed April 3. 1931 5 5,0 FQ/ER/cu A. HaPPE Patented Sept. Ztl, 1932 STATE FRIEDRICH A. I-OPPE, 0F CEIJZCELGO,v ILLINOIS, .ASSIGNOR T0y COMPANY, 0F CHICAGQlLLINOIS, vA CORPORATION 0F ILLINOIS Y numrnrrrna non. BAKE ovnivs Application led April 3, 1931, Serial No. 527,412, end in GermanyiAugust 7, 1930.

My invention relates to bake ovens and has more particular reference to means for providing a steam, vapor, or humidifying chamber within the oven for the purpose of moistening or otherwise treating the loaves of dough therein. More specifically the structure I have devised consists of a chamber comprising one of a plurality of chambersand passages of a traveler tray oven in whichv there is a continuous conveyor that moves the shelves or trays containing the goods. ln passing through thisV special chamber the trays themselves form retaining walls and assist in coniirming the humidiied atmos- Y. with its vertical walls through said chamber phere within the chamber.

It is generally 'the practice in bakery technique, to initially subject the loaves of certain kinds of dough to a moist hot atmosphere or hot vapor, such as steam, during the first run of the traveler for the purpose of conditioning the dough and thereafter to subject the goods to a drier heat for the purpose of baking. Pipes have been introduced into oven chambers to dischargejsteam into them while the dough is initially treated. The

steam so discharged is not necessarily `confined Within the particular chamber but is dispersed, passing into the other or adjacent.

chambers or passages. ln the present structure I have provided means for holding the steam or other humidifying medium at least temporarily within the particular' chamber.

VThis I have done by providing a vertically disposed chamber at the front of the oven permanently positioned so that their horizontal sectional proportions correspond substantially with the plan of each tra-y that passes upwardly through the chamber between said walls and the trays thus providing the top and bottom confirmwalls of the chamber.

The vertical dimensions of theV chamber are such that there is a plurality two or more) of shelves or trays always within and passing the one above the other. Steam or other moisture is passed through certain of the stationary walls and is dis- Y charged into the chamberso that the humidified atmosphere is movedupwardly through l i the chamber between two adjacent trays.

' and novelv in construction, which 'is dependable in operation, which is effective in performing its functions, cally no parts to get out of order." Further objects will beV apparent to others after jan understanding the following detailed description.

I prefer to carry out my invention Vand to accomplish the numerous objects thereof in substantiallyrthe manner hereinafter fully described and as more particularly pointed out in the claims. Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawing, in which;- j y r j .Figure yl is a vertical longitudinal section of atypical bake oven of the traveler type showing my improvements incorporated as apart thereof.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional View showing the details of`a modified structure.

rlhe drawing is to be understoodas beingV which my invention may be made, and in said drawing similar lreference characters have been employe to designate like parts wherever they appear throughout the several views.

i it will be seen the oven comprises .an elongated housing consisting of vertical front and rear walls 5 and 6,`lon,f ;itudinal side walls 7 connecting said'verticalwalls,V atop wall or ceiling Sand a base 9 from which the vertical walls arise. Horizont-ally disposed partitions 10, eXtendfrom the front portion of the oven to the divide its interior into a plurality of chambers or passes 11 that communicate with each other through connecting chambers at their ends. An endless conveyor or link belt 12 carries the trays or shelves 13 in a circuitous route in the various passages through the medium ofsprockets 14 or the like. Y

At the front ofthe housing the wall 5 of the oven is provided with a horizontally elongated opening 15 through which access is had to the moving trays for loading or unloading Referring to the upper figure of the draw-V rear portionv thereof and,V

rnr'nasniv oven f and which has'practi# of my inventionv is had from isi i loc the same, and immediately back of this front wall the conveyor or link-belts and the trays carried thereby travel in a vertical direction upwardly from the bottom to the top passage of the oven. A vertical compartment 16 eX- tends across the oven back of the front wall and provides a humidifying chamber in which the articles on the trays are subjected to the action of steam or moisture. compartment v1G communicates atjits top and bottom with the respective front ends of the upper and lower compartments 11 of the oven. Y rlhe front wall 5;-of the oven provides a portion of the front wall of the compartment 16 and there is a short upstanding wall 17, at

theadjacent front edge'of the lower horizontal partition 10, which supports a structure that extends up to the front edge of the upperpartiti-on as shown. While the trays are traveling ments or passages 11 the gbods are subjected to the desired heat'for' baking by hot-air that is discharged into the oventhrough the medium of elongated blowing ducts 18.V

rlfheselblowing ducts 18 extend transversely across the various passages below the moving rtrays andare supplied with het air from lsuitable heater andblower (or fan) 19. It is preferred to re-circulate theair in the oven,

and to this end: a plurality of suction ducts 2O lare distributed through the interior' of the oven to withdrawthe air and returnV it through the suction pipe lor flue 21 and its branches to the heater and fanwhere said air isreheated andV returned to the'blowing ducts 1.8 through the feedpipelor flue *22 and its branches. Y

The verticali walls which `providethe upwardly extending front compartment 1'6 are preferablyof a hollow construction ;--at least one of such walls is hollow. In thepresent disclosure 1 have shown the forward' and rear walls of the chamber as of hollow .construction. Immediately above the plane of the top cf opening there .are upright" boit-like structures 23 and 9.a Vwhich are supplied with the humidifying medium byfeed pipes 25 upper partition and which discharge said medium into the vertical chamber 16 by openings 26;

The boxesf 'and 2l are preferably Ymade of 4sheet metal vor other suitable material shaped yinto hollow rectangular formand er! tend upwardly 'from the plane of the top of opening 15 Vto the horizontal plane of the 10. Adj acentor facing walls of thel respective boxes r are spaced apart slightly more than 'the width ofthe trays 13 that pass between them and said walls which have the discharge apertures 26, also provide the longitudinal "side walls of the chamber or compartment 16. VThe bcxes yentend from side wall to side wallof the housing' and said side walls '7 provide the end walls of the chamber or compartment 16 and at this por- This vertical lining the steam or humidity through the several 'comparttion of the housing they are spaced aparty slightly more than the length of the trays 13.

rlfhus, it will be seen, the trays in moving upwardly through the chamber or compart-y ment 16 will clear the bounding walls of said compartment. The spacing of the trays on the conveyor is such that at least two or more traysV will be in transit in said vertical compartment at the same time. After a'tray has passed-'the apertures 26 it will provide an upper wall to assist in conand the fnext following'tray which is approaching the discharge apertures. This steam charged or humidied atmosphere between two trays passi-ng through the compartment 16 is maintained until the upper ltray lof a-pair passes out of said compartment, whereupon the neXt tray becomes the retaining wall to confine the steam below 1t.

11s each tray enters boxes it at once ybecomes the lower' retaining wall to hold the humidilied air in contactwith the O'oods yduring the travel of the Vtray through the' compartment so that the loaves of dough are subjected to or treated with moisture prior to entry into the hot drier atmosphere of thefbalring passages.V

Figure 2 disclosesa modified structure rn which a novel .steam `generator is shown .on

each side of and forming'the vertical 'fr-nt ande rear boundaries of the humidifyin'g chamber 16.

rllie steam generators Aare in the forinof elongated vertical casingsY similar to the boxes 23 and 211 except'that they are lopen at the top. They preferably consist of remote vertical walls 27 and reticulated adjacent stationary between itself the space between the walls 28. Partitions 29 extend in inclined smaller than the smallest piece of metallifcrous material in said compartments. The other Vcompartments ofthe boxes may be ydesignated as the heat compartment, and

they taper upwardly in the manner'shown so that hot air may be supplied thereto from anysuitable source through the openings 31 in the ends thereof. l

The hot airis of a high temperature and necessarilyincreases ther temperature of the inclined corrugated partitions 29, which in turn conducts the heat to the ironfilings'. These iron liugs become very hot7 so much Y vertical chamber connecting so that when moistened they will generate steam. Therefore drip-nozzles 32 are placed immediately above the open tops of the boXes close to the iron filings, such nozzles being at the ends of pipes leading from a source of Huid supply and may be valve-controlled. After the iilingshave become highly heated the luid'is allowed to drip from the nozzles upon the filings and it is converted into steam which passes out through the apertured walls into the humidifying chamber 16 through which the goods are traveling in an upward direction on the trays.

It is obvious that either may be dispensed with and the oven successfully operated in the manner desired. It is also obvious that different means may be employed for heating the iron filings than those herein shown. Also other materials and means may be employed for receiving the liquid or water that is converted into steam'or gas.

The drawing and detailed description kherein are given for the purpose of clearness of understanding` only, and no unnecessary limitations are to be understood'therefrom, but the claims are to be construed as broadly as permissible in view ofthe prior art.

What l claim is l. A bake oven comprising a housing, horizontal partitions therein providing a plurality oi' compartments, a structure providing a an upper and a lower compartment, means for humidifying the atmosphere in said passage, and traveling trays movable through said compartments and chamber', the said trays being' of such dimensions that when moving through said chamber they provide vertically spaced barriers that conne the humidiied atmosphere in said chamber.

2. In a bake oven a housing having' a plurality of compartments one of which provides a vertical humiditying chamber, means for closing upper and lower portions of said chamber consisting of a plurality of movable trays that traverse said compartments and move vertically through said chamber, and means for discharging a humidiiying medium into said chamber between the trays moving therethrough whereby said trays prolower barriers to conne the vide upper and between them while of the generators humidiied atmosphere traversing said chamber.

3. ln a bake oven. means for providing` a humidity chamber therein comprising a hollow box-like structure forming one of the sides of said chamber, vertical oven walls forming the ends and opposite side of said chamber, horizontally disposed loaf-carrying trays each extending Jrom side to side and from end to end of said chamber, said trays being movable in a vertical directionthrough said chamber and providing' superposed barr rie'rs during their transit, and means for dis- V ing transit.

Vvertical passage, means tures being separated from charging a, humidifying medium from said Y dimensions that they provide spaced barriers 1 midihed atmosphere from said chamber dur- 5. Means for humidifving a.

bake oven comprising, incombination with an exterior housing, hollow boXlike structures extending trom side to side of the housing, adjacent side walls of the respective structures being spaced apart to provide a for supplving said structures with a humidii'ying medium and discharging the saine into said passage, conveyors movable vertically throughsaid passage, and trays supported bv said conveyors and movable in superposed relation to each other through said passageand being of such dimensions that they provide top and bottom barriers between which the humidifying medium is discharged and confined during transit of the trays through the passage.

6. A bake oven comprising a housing, horizontal partitions dividing the interior into a plurality of longitudinal passages communicating in series with each other. vertical walls extending across the the housing and providing a vertically disposed humidity chamber that communicates with upper and lower passages, certain walls ofthe chamber being of boslike formation and adapted to oischarge a humidifying medium into said chamber, conveyor means passing initially through said chamber and subsequently through said passages, said conveyor means including trays each of which is of such dimensions as to substantially lill said chamber in a transverse plane to provide pockets in said chamber between successive trays, and means for heating said passages.

A bake oven comprising a housing, horizontal partitions dividing the interior into a plurality ot longitudinal passages communicating in series with each other, transverse vertical walls adjacent the front of the housing that are spaced from each other to provide boxlike structures, said boXlike strucpassages,

means for `discharging a humidifying me-v therein that withhold vfree escape of the huportion of a oven adjacent the front of endless conveyors k traif'ei-through said' intermediate chamber they `provide horizontal barriers between thel verticaiwaiis 'of saidchainber whereby to confine the huinidiied atinosphere'therein between I'adjacent trays. t

f8. Means for providing ahumidifying por-A tiou oi a bake oven housing comprising space side by side boxiike structures disposed Verticaiiy adjacent an end of the housing, facing 19; walls of said structures being aperimred, means for charging said structures with a humidifying medium, `.and a plurality of vertically mov-able trays ofsuch a size as to eX-l tend across the space between the boxiike is; structures and provide pockets between ad-V jacent trays to -ooune lthe humidified atmosphere therein duringA transit 'of' the tra-ys through the chamber between said boXiihe structures. v i? Si-Oiied at Chicago, in the'oounty of Cook, and @tate of llinoisythisth day oMarch.l

FRIEDRICH A. HoPPE. 

